Alba wants to restart gold mining in Wales

Alba Mineral Resources wants to restart gold mining in North Wales, in the hope that new technology could help it find the “next Clogau mine”.

Located in the ‘Dolgellau gold belt’, Clogau originally operated as a copper and lead mine, but gold was found there in 1854.

The mine was shut before the First World War. It was re-opened in 1989 by William Roberts, and he began to extract gold again in 1992 on a small scale, but mining ceased again in 1998.

It was announced last year that Alba Mineral Resources had purchased a 49% stake in Gold Mines of Wales Ltd, which owns the Clogau mine.

Alba’s (www.albamineralresources.com) executive chairman, George Frangeskides, says that newly developed scanning technology can help Alba to find valuable gold in the Clogau mine, as well as new mines in the area in which it has exploration rights.

“We now have more technology to help us find un-worked veins in the mines. The scanning technology has advanced, and it has not so far been used at this site.

"We can build up a comprehensive 3-D computer model of the Clogau mine, which can help with our exploration of the site. This is a narrow vein and structurally complex, so we need this technology — and experts on board — to find where any remaining gold is.

"There are around 100 old workings in this area, and we want to target some of the most interesting ones. We know that Welsh gold attracts a premium.”

Over the years, the Dolgellau gold belt has produced about 131,000 ounces of gold — more than any other UK region — and most of this gold (81,000oz) came from Clogau mine.